Little Black Cootie
by Rosie2009
Summary: When Evie comes home to try to find Mal to work on the girl's dress, Evie finds a completely new surprise... Complete sisterly feels and absolutely no romantic sentiment.


"Hey, Mal?" Evie strode into their dorm, looking around as she sat her purse and freshly-purchased silky fabric down on the vanity nearby.

To her slight aggravation, no one seemed to be there, much less her stubborn roommate. She huffed.

"Aaaaaand she's nowhere in sight," Evie shrugged her shoulders and gestured at the room.

There was going to be a party held by Audrey next weekend and Evie absolutely had to have Mal so that she could work on the purple-haired girl's dress. Not that Mal was particularly looking forward to going or even desiring to go, but Evie didn't want to go by herself and didn't want Mal to be home alone.

But every single time Evie decided it was time to finally make some adjustments to the dress, Mal always found some sort of convenient reason that she definitely couldn't show up.

Evie muttered aggravatedly under her breath as she sat down at the vanity with a grumpy expression. Upon glancing at herself, almost instinctively, she forced the look off of her face and put on a neutral expression as she gazed at her visage in the mirror.

"Frowning causes wrinkles," Evie recited habitually, remembering what her mother had drilled in her head. She quickly berated herself, however, upon the recollection that she didn't have to follow her mother's rules anymore.

It was humiliating, really. How undetached she felt from her mother. None of the rest of her family seemed to be suffering from anything like this. Mal was strong and stoic as ever- a little stressed but very much firm in her stance of good. Carlos seemed to have all but forgotten about the Isle. Jay was glad to be free from his father's influence.

What was wrong with her, then?

Knowing that this was starting to lead down a greatly familiar path of self-hatred and belittling, she shook herself from her thoughts and returned to the task that she had resolved to begin. In an attempt to distract herself from her thoughts, Evie hummed to herself as she set to sewing a sash for a dress that she was working on for some Auradon girl. She quickly called back to mind the name- Princess Ruby of Corona, Princess Rapunzel's daughter, Evie thought.

She felt so strange. It was mind-boggling to really be on the good team for once. Evie supposed she had always secretly fantasized about the wonders of real, live, beautiful fashion and great castles and a wonderful place where her and her most loved people didn't have to fear anyone or anything.

But it was still hard to deal with sometimes. She had been raised in a quite… rough area.

Evie quickly hemmed the rough edges of the snowy white sash, taking great care not to prick her finger with the needle as she thought about the true need for supplies and how she was eventually going to need to charge for her dresses. She should really start a business…

However, what she certainly didn't expect was for something that felt quite similar to needles to stab into her calf and start moving up her leg.

Evie shot up, her project completely forgotten as she hopped around the room and screeched hysterically.

"AAAAAAAAHHH! GET IT OFF!" Evie screamed, shaking her legs around and not even looking at what ghastly creature had attached itself to her leg.

It was going to kill her, and she had absolutely no choice in the matter. It was an awful way to die. She always imagined going more honorably than this. She hoped her family would remember her fondly.

However, after a moment, just as she was starting to get a good picture of her headstone in her mind, she realized that the prickles had left her skin and that hands had grabbed her arms tightly.

"What is going on?! Evie, stop!"

She quickly quit her flailing and looked at the person in front of her. It was Mal, to her great relief, but instead of maybe a comforting hug and the sympathetic understanding that she expected in the light of a near-death experience, all she received was a shove that sent her down on her bed.

Evie unashamedly gaped at the girl as Mal got down on her knees and started crawling toward her own bed carefully.

"Come here, baby. Come on," Mal beckoned softly.

"It's okay, sweetheart," Mal reassured, looking under her bed. Evie's eyes grew even wider as Mal soon had a little black ball of fur held in her arms. What was that?! And why was it getting all the love that Evie should have been getting?

"Aww, angel, don't be scared- you're shaking." Evie's jaw slackened in shock as she began to feel highly offended toward the other girl.

"Did that big, bad blueberry scare you? Poor baby," Mal cooed, stroking the little creature's head.

Evie's face contorted into an angry pout. What was she? Chopped liver? She was the one that deserved the petting and the pity. She was the attacked party.

And besides all that, a blueberry?! What the actual heck was going on here?!

She couldn't even hardly concentrate on the fact that Mal was acting completely out of character. However fascinating that change of pace was, it still didn't compare to her quickly rising anger and childish feeling of neglect.

Evie was quickly realizing that Mal was picking a little bundle of misery over her own self-proclaimed sister.

Evie cleared her throat, completely exasperated as she raised an eyebrow. She was going to butt into whatever was going on in front of her because this was just plain unfair and had to be against the laws of sisterhood.

Mal looked up, giving her a strange look. Evie extended her arms out with her saddest eyes in an attempt to take advantage of those soulful brown pools, wanting a hug after the traumatic experience.

Mal just raised her own eyebrow and glared at her with a sassy expression. Obviously it wasn't going to work, but Evie was sure going to give it a try.

"You don't get hugs, E. You scared the baby." Evie furrowed her brows with a grumpy huff as she eyed the little creature distrustfully.

"I was attacked! And I deserve hugs because I'm your best friend versus some animal that you just picked up somewhere!" the bluenette defended herself adamantly.

Mal rolled her eyes and went back to comforting the little "baby."

"What is that, anyway? And why are you so fond of it?" Evie questioned with mild curiosity as she tried to get a better look at the furball. Most of her feelings were clouded with irritation that she was not the top priority when she was obviously the victim.

"It's a kitten. And I'm not fond of it," Mal quickly put the scrawny little creature down on the floor, attempting to reject any open show of affectionate feelings and sympathy she may have had.

Evie looked down disdainfully at the pitiful cat. It returned her glare with a more innocent gaze of its own, its hugely wide green eyes almost glowing in sharp contrast with its ebony fur.

Even then, Evie could see how much Mal wanted to pick it back up. However, she remained defiant and refused to touch it. Evie rolled her eyes. It was always a challenge with Mal. And it was always guaranteed that she'd never back down from a challenge.

But Evie was afraid that the challenge ran much deeper than just holding the cat.

"You're not keeping it, are you?" Evie asked, her tone slightly accusatory as she shifted her gaze between the purple-haired girl and the animal.

"Well, I don't know," Mal finally gave in and lifted it into her lap. "It needs a good home." Evie raised an eyebrow as she looked at the little troublemaker.

There was no way on this Earth that she'd let Mal keep that thing. It had ruthlessly sank its talons into her calf and worst of all, those same talons could completely tear apart the dresses that she so diligently worked to create.

Besides, pets were gross, unsanitary, and the only reason she liked Dude was because he lived in Carlos and Jay's room instead of her and Mal's.

"Mal, it's not staying here," Evie announced, meeting Mal's eyes with a firm stare. Mal's gaze hardened as she furrowed her brow.

"And why couldn't it stay here?"

"Because it's a nuisance! Just look at it! It's pure evil…" Mal stared at Evie, completely unimpressed as the kitten adorably purred and rubbed against her. Evie narrowed her eyes at it. It was certainly doing that on purpose to make Evie look bad.

"Yeah. Definitely a heartless, killing machine," Mal replied with sarcasm practically dripping off every word.

"You weren't assaulted like I was," Evie pouted. Mal rolled her eyes.

"It's not a tiger, Evie. It's a little baby kitten," Mal defended the little creature as she stroked its back affectionately.

"I know that!" Evie protested, turning her head away in indignation. After a moment, the bluenette sighed, readjusting and facing the green-eyed girl once again as she reached into her patience reserves in search of that peace that she kept when dealing with some of Mal's more irritating episodes of insanity.

"Look, just go find someone who'll take it." Evie gently rubbed at her eyes, trying to avoid smudging her makeup.

"Fine. You watch her while I'm gone," Mal told her, a casual smirk playing on her face. Evie stopped immediately and gaped at the kitten.

"No! No, you're not leaving that- that cootie here with me!" Evie objected, and Mal's smirk just grew wider as she stood up, holding the kitten in her arms.

"You wanted me to go find an owner for her, so the least you can do is hold onto her for me while I search," Mal smugly informed her as she began to lower it into Evie's lap. Evie froze, staring at it with ridiculously huge eyes as Mal let it slide onto her legs.

Mal then grabbed her phone, on her way out the door. Evie took the kitten and sat it on her vanity in a moment of pure spontaneity. She then hurried over to Mal and grabbed her elbow.

"Don't leave me alone!"

"You'll be fine! Don't be a baby," Mal told her as she slung her bag over her shoulder. Evie's eyes widened and she lunged for her best friend quickly.

"No, wait!" And Mal shut the door. Evie huffed, lightly bumping her head against the door in frustration.

After a moment, she ripped herself away from the door to face the inevitable. Completely unamused, she watched as the little kitten began to bat at the feathers used for special fashion cases hung nearby the vanity.

Inevitably, Evie felt a bit of her resolve weakening at the overwhelming cuteness. But she quickly shook herself out of it. She couldn't fall weak to the enemy that easily.

Evie rolled her eyes and walked up to the cat, quickly snatching the feathers away and putting them on her nightstand.

"No, don't do that. Bad girl," Evie scolded as she glared at the little creature. It just gazed up at her innocently, still perfectly perched on Evie's vanity.

She sighed and attempted to pick it up to sit it on the floor away from her workspace. But before she could grab it, it began pawing at her hands.

"Oooh, no, no, no. I need to move you. I can't have you sitting here with me. You'll mess up my work," Evie spoke firmly, trying to take a stand against the little animal that had somehow managed to dominate her workspace right before her eyes.

After only a moment, she gave up and sat down at the vanity, taking her needle and gingerly continuing the project she had already started. She was pathetic. That dumb cat had taken her best friend, her workspace, and was obviously bossing her around.

But it was cute…

She shook her head quickly, pulling herself from that train of thought. Mother had always told her animals were unsanitary. Gross. Not fit for a princess.

Given how much she had allowed herself to blossom into a new person apart from her mother's creation, Evie couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to enjoy a pet. Dude was okay, but he lived with Carlos and Jay and not with her and Mal.

Evie's eyes widened when the creature in question landed in her lap softly. She drew her head back, frozen in place. It looked up at her, mewled softly, and then began gently kneading the fabric of her dress that was covering her thighs.

It was a strange feeling, but it was strangely endearing all the same for the kitten to actually want to sit in her lap after she had scared it half to death, sent its protector in search of a new owner, and scolded the little thing, too.

The kitten looked down at her hand and nuzzled it, apparently trying to get her to pet it. Evie hesitantly raised her hand and allowed her needle to remain stuck in her project. It pushed its head into her hand and arched its back.

Evie, almost entranced, ran her hand down its head and over its back carefully. She chuckled quietly when it started to purr and rub against her. It settled against her stomach calmly and closed its eyes.

She smiled in spite of herself. What she had been working on completely forgotten, Evie gently picked up the kitten and she moved to her bed so that they would have a more comfortable place to rest.

Evie lowered herself onto the bed and the little kitten nestled between her arm and body happily. The bluenette allowed her eyes to close, her body feeling heavy and the bed feeling increasingly inviting as she lay down with the warm little body beside her.

Maybe pets weren't so bad.

…

Well… It was a complete failure. Largely because Mal wanted it to be. She never really asked anybody about wanting a kitten and instead talked to a few people about _her_ new kitten. She knew Evie was going to be mad, but she was really hoping that she'd let her keep it for a few days at least. Mal really wasn't one for attachments to animals, but the little kitten somehow reminded herself of her.

So Mal bravely entered the lion's den wordlessly, expecting the great blue-maned monster to immediately launch into some rant about all the things that the little kitten had supposedly done. Mal simply threw her bag onto her bed, facing her side of the room as she waited for the inevitable.

However, to her surprise, there was absolute silence.

Mal raised an eyebrow and hesitantly turned around, dread in her entire posture. Evie had to be luring her in for some sort of trap so she could be face to face with her when she unloaded her bucketful of complaints.

Her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her on Evie's bed. Her bluenette best friend was lying there asleep, all cozy with the very kitten that she supposedly hated so much.

Mal smiled at the two, her eyes softening as she looked at the adorable pair comfortably lounged on the mattress.

After a moment or two more o watching them, Mal grabbed her book from her nightstand, quietly stepped over to the side of the bed, and eased onto it beside them. She tried to avoid jolting the mattress too much with her weight because she knew how lightly Evie slept.

She gently wrapped her fingers around Evie's arm, lifting it so that it was sitting on her lap as she scooted closer into the slightly older girl.

Evie slightly stirred, but ultimately writhed a bit so that she was nestled comfortably into Mal's body.

The purple-haired girl held her book in her hands and allowed Evie's head to rest against her elbow as she read quietly.

The corners of her lips curled into a slight grin as the little kitten climbed over Evie and curled up between the two of them as well as it could considering that there was hardly any space between them.

Mal valiantly attempted to read the book, but all she succeeded in doing truly was just rereading the first paragraph repeatedly. Which was really frustrating because Mal really wanted to read it.

But she was completely distracted when a particular noise emitted from Evie, and she couldn't help but grin a bit at the sound of it.

Evie would be absolutely and completely mortified if she knew that she snored. That'd immediately make her anything less than perfect, and it would drive her insane.

Despite the overwhelming temptation to have some fresh material to tease Evie with, Mal ultimately decided to hold her tongue because she knew Evie would probably lose her mind trying to find some way to fix it. It was one of those leftover issues.

She knew Evie still had at least a few things haunting her from the past and was struggling greatly with them. Heck, it was a fight Mal had every day to just resist the urge to do something at least a little deviant. Mal loved Evie, but she didn't know how to help her, and really didn't even know how to help herself.

Evie shifted slightly in her sleep and little puffs of warm breaths began to patter gently against Mal's arm.

Mal nestled closer to the two of them, feeling an overwhelming sense of comfortable warmth overcoming her with the combined body heat of mostly Evie but the kitten, too. Mal moved her arms so that she had one draped around Evie and another on her stomach as she sat her book down gently beside them on the bed. It was so cozy, and Mal couldn't help but let her eyes slip closed.

She sighed in contentment. Maybe the book could wait.

…

Evie moved slightly in her sleep, accidentally bringing herself into consciousness as she almost surprised herself with the motion. She felt oddly warm and there was a suspicious feeling of arms around her and a body close to her. Evie's eyelids fluttered open drowsily and she smiled sleepily at the sight of Mal relaxed so sweetly there beside her. Mal looked more calm in that position than Evie had ever seen her.

Evie raised up a bit and scooted backward, leaning against the pillows carefully as she tried to wake up a bit more. She turned her drowsy gaze over to Mal and watched the soothing rise and fall of Mal's chest as she breathed softly alongside the kitten.

It was moments like this that made Evie's heart practically throb with love for the other girl. Mal was hers. Her best friend, her sister, her everything.

But before long, Evie noticed a slight movement of Mal's body. She furrowed her brow and watched Mal carefully. The purple-haired girl shifted several more times and her movements were erratic, her mouth beginning to move slightly. The kitten laid its ears back and moved away, hopping down from the bed gingerly onto the floor in its unnerved state.

"Please… Please… I don't… I can't," Mal muttered nigh silently. Evie faced the girl, her eyes glowing with that familiar concern that sprung onto her whenever Mal was in trouble or suffering.

Mal then jerked her head to the side. It was such a subtle movement that Evie almost missed it. But it was definitely a reaction to a slap to Mal's cheek.

Evie felt her heart clench with pain for Mal, and she carefully placed a hand on Mal's head, worried that if she moved too fast, the green-eyed girl would awaken. She simply wanted to soothe the girl while she was still in the confines of her unconscious wanderings.

Unfortunately, no matter how gentle Evie might have been, old habits will die hard, she assumed.

Mal jerked awake, her eyes shooting open, and Evie never even flinched as the girl grabbed her wrist with a sturdy grip. It wasn't an uncomfortable squeeze, but it wasn't easy either. Mal studied her for barely a second before her eyes flashed with recognition. She immediately let go of Evie and looked away.

"Sorry," Mal apologized, her voice thick with sleep and something else undefinable, as she arose from her place on the bed and twisted so that she sat on the edge, holding her face in her hands.

Evie watched her intently. Mal was almost unnaturally still as she sat there without a word. Evie crawled forward so that she was beside the other girl and also so she might also gauge Mal's emotions.

But to her disappointment and concern, Mal was an impenetrable wall of stoicism. At least on the outside. Evie wanted to reach out and touch her, but she wasn't sure how the other girl would react at this moment, especially considering how Mal had acted just a moment ago.

However, Evie noticed as Mal removed her hands from her face, she definitely needed some sort of touch. The purple-haired girl almost seemed as if she were somewhere else entirely and it certainly wasn't a good place to be if the freaked out expression on her face was anything to go by.

Evie eased off the bed carefully and kneeled in front of the other girl, keeping her gaze trained on Mal's eyes. That set of emerald pools shifted slightly to better lock with Evie's own. It was almost as if she was in a trance.

The bluenette showed her hands in a placating gesture as she ever so gently made her way to touch Mal's arms. The purple-haired girl never moved, but as soon as the slightly older girl made contact, she flinched and her eyes became alight with the not-so-foreign expression of that easily relatable fear.

Evie rubbed them, moving her hands up and down the lengths of pale skin in soothing motions. Mal was almost shivering at this moment, and Evie was growing increasingly worried about the younger girl's emotional state.

Evie slowly arose and got back on the bed, moving nearby Mal with her legs crisscrossed.

"Lean back, okay? Just pull your legs up onto the bed and lean back against me," Evie softly commanded.

After several long moments of silence, Mal hesitantly drew one leg upon the bed. Evie hummed encouragingly, expressing her pride in Mal's attempts. With great struggle, Mal pulled up the other one. Evie then felt the girl immediately lean into her.

The bluenette calmly and carefully embraced her, resting her chin on her head. This was almost physically painful for her. It hurt to see Mal in such a bad way.

So she began to do what she knew would calm the faerie. Evie began to very quietly hum under her breath a song so familiar to her, yet one she had never recalled hearing before. It had no words, simply a tune that somehow seemed to fit them at this moment. It almost seemed like a heartfeltly deep message of love despite the differences and distances. It was strange to feel like she knew so much about a song she had never even heard before.

But no matter how clueless Evie might have been about the song's origins, she knew one thing- Mal was currently almost completely relaxed against her and her shivering was just very occasional quakes of her shoulders. Evie began to gently fiddle with and braid the younger girl's deep purple locks, taking her and Mal's mind off of the situation at hand.

She bound a strand on either side in a stylish, thin braid than ran to the center of the back of Mal's head. Evie then used a strand of hair to gently tie them together in the back.

Evie then returned her arms to their place around Mal's small frame, hugging her tightly and securely.

However, after several moments, Mal finally spoke up.

"Sorry you had to see that. I try to keep that… toned down," Mal told her, an emotion bordering on ashamed lacing her voice. Evie eyes widened a bit as she reflected on that thought.

Evie had suspected that Mal had been having nightmares, but she had never actually known for sure. She was an extremely light sleeper so she would wake up if even the slightest noise was made. So naturally, if Mal managed to make any noise that was not breathing or the occasional light snore, Evie was going to hear it and wake up. Which was why she had some inkling of how Mal's demons bothered her.

"Mal, you don't have to keep it 'toned down' in front of me. I am _always_ here for you. I want you to not feel guilty about involving me in these things, no matter how bad they might be. I want to be involved because I want to know what's going on with you always," Evie explained to her lovingly as she brought her hand up to stroke the younger girl's hair with as much care and compassion as she could muster in one touch.

"You're struggling with things, too, E," Mal suddenly and astutely pointed out. Evie paused in her ministrations, more than a little concerned about the extent of Mal's knowledge.

"So don't act like I'm the only one who needs consoling about something," Mal told her, turning around in Evie's embrace and pulling away slightly with an almost unreadable expression accenting her features.

"How did you know?" Evie finally questioned hesitantly.

"How could I not know? You're still awfully concerned about what others think of you and how you look. Don't think I don't see that critical assessment of yourself that you do every time you're in front of a mirror. Even if it's just for a second," Mal told her. Evie looked down at her hands where they were rested on her lap.

"Mal, you don't need to worry about me. I think you're forgetting that this is about you right now. Who was the one with the nightmare?" Evie awkwardly joked, chuckling lightly. However, she quickly sobered when she saw that Mal hadn't even cracked a smile, and instead had gotten a concerned expression on her face.

"Evie, you're important, too. You need to know you're the most gorgeous person I've ever seen in my life and I'm proud of you every single day for not only that but for every other wonderful thing about you," Mal heartfeltly admitted. Evie studied her face carefully, knowing that the younger girl meant every word. The pure emotion showing in who used to be the most harsh, unfeeling person on the Isle- at least on the outside- was almost enough to bring Evie to tears.

She nodded and swallowed thickly, looking away in an attempt to collect herself. Evie honestly hadn't meant for the conversation to turn to her. She was focused completely on Mal, but then the green-eyed girl had to go and spin it around so that it was about Evie.

Which was definitely not fair to Mal.

"This is about you, not me," Evie attempted to redirect Mal's focus.

"No. It's about you, too. I honestly think this conversation was long overdue. I just haven't known how to start talking about this with you," Mal informed her bluntly in that way that was so characteristically Mal. It was almost comforting in this situation even if they were knee-deep in all of Evie's unearthed doubts. "Why didn't you tell me, E?"

"I didn't want you to worry. You already have enough on your plate. You don't need to stress over things needlessly," Evie said, fiddling with Mal's fingers gently as she spoke.

"The same could be said for you, so I really don't think that's a valid excuse anymore," Mal pushed, grabbing Evie's hand as she stopped its nervous toying with her digits.

Evie sighed and squeezed Mal's hand gently.

"I really didn't want you to worry."

"I'm sensing an 'and?'"

"And," Evie fondly eyed the other girl before returning to a serious expression, "I didn't want to be the only one struggling with these parent problems. The rest of you are handling it so well, and I just felt like I was being ridiculous."

"Evie, I don't know how you don't see it," Mal spoke. Evie tilted her head, more than a little confused. "Jay has so many problems resisting the urge to steal things. It's a constant burden that he always carries because of his dad. I accidentally walked in on Carlos freaking out the other day because he was afraid of the coach going nuts on him since Carlos was late for practice. That was just because of Cruella."

Mal paused, avoiding Evie's eyes in an obvious attempt to organize her thoughts. Evie removed her hands from Mal's grasp and cradled her face in her hands as she brought her closer against her. Mal immediately reconnected her gaze with Evie's own the best she could considering her head's newfound position upon Evie's shoulder and one of Evie's hands holding her gently in place.

"And you just saw how 'composed' I am," Mal told her quietly, a suddenly dampened mood brought to her attempt at making Evie feel better. Evie nuzzled against the side of her head.

"Mal, you _are _composed. You didn't cry once throughout all of that fiasco, and then you manage to turn around and make this entire thing about me and my issues. Which is definitely not fair to you," Evie gently scolded, but couldn't help the involuntary smile that slid into her voice. She happily noticed the smile that suddenly formed upon the slightly younger girl's face.

"If it were me, I would have already been a huge puddle of tears by now," Evie chuckled breathlessly. Shortly thereafter that statement, however, she noticed her eyes watering a bit.

"Well, darn it, Mal, now I'm crying," Evie told her, wiping her eyes while simultaneously trying to avoid smearing any makeup. Mal gently bumped her head against Evie's.

"I love you, so don't cry. 'Kay?"

"Okay… I love you, too," Evie replied.

Mal laced her fingers in Evie's own and leaned against her heavily. For several long moments after this, they just silently enjoyed each other's company.

But the bluenette just couldn't let the entire issue drift away. She knew they'd probably be in this precise predicament in the foreseeable future where one of them was in conflict with herself about the past.

"Mal, why don't we both agree to just be honest and help each other through these things?" Evie proposed, looking down at the other girl.

"Okay. That'd probably be best," Mal agreed.

Suddenly, a certain visitor clambered onto the bed with a mewl.

Evie grinned as Mal immediately brightened. She opened her arms and the little kitten came bounding into them. Mal brought it to her chest, cuddling it close to her.

Evie reached over and stroked the cat gently, holding Mal in her embrace with her other arm.

"Y'know, when I came in here earlier, I saw you with her," Mal mentioned nonchalantly. Evie stopped in her ministrations momentarily, but quickly resumed, the kitten purring louder than ever since both of the girls were petting her.

"Cootie's not too awful," Evie admitted, keeping her eyes on the little bundle of black fur.

"Cootie?" Mal inquired, pulling away from Evie a bit to look at her. "Really?"

Evie shrugged, only glancing at Mal for a moment. Mal looked down at the kitten for a moment and then she got an enormous smile on her face.

"Ohhh, Evie! You know what happens when you name her! That means you get attached," Mal bumped into her playfully, and Evie rolled her eyes.

"I'm not exactly adverse to getting attached."

"We can keep it?" Mal's entire face lit up with such joy and excitement that Evie felt her heart melt.

"I guess so. Just as long as we can call it Cootie."

"But why Cootie?"

"Because she's still adorably annoying just like you, you little cootie."

…

"Hey, Evie? Have you seen Cootie? And besides that, what are you doing?" Mal questioned curiously as she watched Evie humming a song happily as she tacked a sign onto the door of one of the old storage rooms.

"And… it… is… done!" Evie announced all of a sudden. Mal raised an eyebrow and inspected the door. Engraved upon the sign was "Evie's Four Hearts: Coming Soon."

She looked over at Evie as the bluenette wrapped her arm around her.

"I thought that if I had something constructive to do, it might help with the issues I've been having with adjusting and everything," Evie told her quietly in an attempt to avoid being overheard by other people that were passing by.

"So, what is this?" Mal questioned, gesturing at the door as she brought up her other arm to embrace Evie.

"It's my new business! It's a dress shop," Evie proudly informed her, hurrying over to the door and opening it, grasping Mal's hand as she pulled her along.

"Just look at the inside!" Evie exclaimed eagerly, her features illuminated with her overwhelming excitement. Mal allowed her to drag her in and she looked all around the room as Evie shut the door behind them.

"Well, what do you think?" Evie asked, the anticipation evident in her voice.

If Mal was truly honest, it was a real dump. In the center of the room, there were boxes that were full of fabric and other materials, and all around those center boxes, there were various cleaning supplies, old junk, and ancient documents.

"It looks like it has a lot of potential, E. It could be a very big mess to clean up… But you know the boys and I will help you out," Mal offered, smiling at the slightly older girl. Evie looked like she was about to start jumping up and down in her enthusiasm.

Out of a nearby box, Cootie's head popped up suddenly, her ears laid back and her eyes wide as she bewilderedly pounced out of the box.

"Hey, girlie! Where have you been?" Mal bent down and stroked her gently. Cootie stood there for a moment, enjoying the attention, but when Mal arose from her crouched position, the kitten ran as fast as she could around the room.

Both girls shared a laugh as the cat jumped into another box, the only part of her visible being her tail.

Mal looked back at Evie, sensing that the girl had more to say about her most recent brain child.

"And I named it 'Evie's Four Hearts!' Because I have four hearts," Evie told her, a little more serious and calmer than she was just a moment earlier as she walked forward and extended her hands to Mal. Mal took them in her own without hesitation even though she was a little weirded out by Evie's odd choice.

"What is it with you and weird names?"

"Just let me finish! The four hearts are mine, Jay's, Carlos', and yours," Evie told her, releasing one of her hands to withdraw a locket from her pocket. She delicately guided Mal's hand that she had in her grasp closer to her where she gently placed the necklace in the purple-haired girl's palm.

Mal opened her hand carefully and drew it back to her, inspecting the heart-shaped trinket Evie had given her. It had a gorgeous, sparkly amethyst on the front of it, and she glanced up at Evie, grinning widely at her in gratitude. However, her smile faded a bit as she quickly noticed a button along the edge of it. She then gently pressed it.

It popped open and she found a picture of her and Evie, their arms around one another and Evie's hand pulling her head over closer against her as they- mostly Evie- both grinned from ear to ear.

She remembered taking that one. Ben had given them all phones and Evie had wasted absolutely no time taking as many pictures with Mal and the boys that she could possibly manage. In that particular instance, she had gotten the boys to take a picture of them two together shortly before she deemed that they all needed a photo together.

But Mal had no idea that Evie was going to print any of them, much less put them in a locket of all things.

"It's just to let you know that I'm always there. Right in your heart. No matter what you might be facing and how impossible it might seem, I'm always going to be here for you," Evie heartfeltly explained. Mal looked up at her for only a moment before grabbing her in the tightest hug she could possibly give her, wrapping her arms around the other girl's middle.

From her head's position laying against Evie's chest, she heard that telltale, barely audible whine that indicated Evie was valiantly pushing down the stubborn lump in her throat. It was alright because Mal understood. She was trying to push down one of her own at the moment.

"Thank you so much, Evie."

"You're welcome, Mal."

**A/N: Hello, everyone! For the few people that may or may not have been reading this story, I do apologize for my absence. I have been quite busy as of late and I am also rapidly losing inspiration. This particular oneshot came about largely because I thought it'd be super cute to focus on Mal's softer side that could be brought out by a cat and have Evie be the one going "No way, Jose!" I also wanted an excuse to bring out my idea as to where Evie got the name for her shop "Evie's Four Hearts." ****And then, the reason that absolutely must be addressed, I wanted to do it because I myself have a cat called Cootie.**

**But anyways…. I currently have another idea brewing for this fandom, but I'm lacking the motivation necessary to execute it. But I will try valiantly to fight the procrastination monkey and the anti-motivation monster. I'll have to pull out the big guns *drags out Evie with grumpy face, Mal with her arms crossed, Jay giving out the stink eye, and Carlos with… pancake batter?***

**Nevertheless, I hope to be seeing you all again soon in another oneshot. :)**


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